Jürgen Moltmann’s theology of the incarnation is one of the integral concepts underpinning his entire theology. His perspective takes the incarnation very seriously and this leads him to some radical theological conclusions about the relationship between God and the world. His theology of the incarnation is not itself radical, but he does not abandon it as he reaches conclusions about that it means for the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. In this paper, I will attempt to describe Moltmann’s theology of the incarnation in detail and demonstrate how it is central to his understanding of the Jesus’ crucifixion.
Homemade Butter
Feb 26
My schedule this semester is arranged such that I have every Thursday and Friday off. Rather than just fritter this time away, I’ve decided that I’m going to spend it doing things I enjoy, like cooking. And since I have this blog, I might as well document my projects.
I found a few sets of instructions for how to make butter, but essentially it’s just a matter of over-whipping cream. I decided to try the food processor method but I immediately regretted it, because my little thrift store Cuisinart didn’t hold an entire quart of cream.
Here’s a paper I wrote for my Systematic theology class about the movie Doubt. There are certainly some spoilers (If that movie could have spoilers), but I specifically don’t take sides in the question of “did he do it?”. Enjoy.
Boundaries and Borders
Sep 11
I’ve been reflecting on some of the ideas I’ve been learning about in my Ministry Across Cultures class, and also what I just heard in my class about Paul this morning. The dichotomy that has been trying to hold in tension is between boundaries and borders. I think that distinction is an important one in the way we think of ecumenism and multiculturalism.
A Different Mirror
Sep 10
I’m going to try to blog all of the little writing assignments I have throughout the semester. In my Ministry Across Cultures class, we’re reading A Different Mirror by Ronald Takaki. and have been asked to write a reflection about the first chapter.
Here is the question:
Describe briefly takaki’s frame for what it means to be “American” Using this frame, how might we re-think our idea of what it means to be Lutheran?
My Theology of Baptism
Aug 29
As I’ve pondered my own understanding of baptism recently I have come to realize that it has been somewhat theologically problematic for me. I think that far too often it is treated as a kind of magical act where a baby is insured of a crass kind of “fire insurance”. That understanding of baptism, although it seems quite common in folk piety, is antithetical to my understanding of how God works in the world. So that leaves me with a quandry. If baptism should not be understood in that way, what is it?
I’ve decided to start a little series on Biblical literalism, since that seems to be at the heart of much of the disagreement in the church. I’ll admit now that I’m not a literalist. So much of the bible was clearly written to be taken as allegory, hyperbole, metaphor, etc. that I can’t imagine how annoyed the authors would be if they knew their words are being taken literally. On the other hand, I don’t believe in just throwing out passages that I don’t like. It’s quite easy to just ignore something we don’t like, but I think the Word of God is revealed most strongly when we find the Gospel hidden in a difficult passage. One of Luther’s great realizations happened when he did exactly this, his understanding of external righteousness came from studying a passage that he felt he just could not accept.
This brings me to my topic today, Hell. I don’t claim to be a Universalist, but I don’t feel a need to refute Universalism either. If Hell exists, I hope that no one ever goes there. My interpretation of the bible in its context suggests that there is something like hell that Jesus is talking about, my faith doesn’t rest on this idea, so usually I don’t bother with it. If the New Testament is read literally, there is no hell. Let me repeat that to make it extra clear, in a literal reading of the New Testament (in Greek) hell is not mentioned. Think I’m wrong? Well read on:
At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the sabbath; his disciples were hungry, and they began to pluck heads of grain and to eat. When the Pharisees saw it, they said to him, “Look, your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the sabbath.” He said to them, “Have you not read what David did when he and his companions were hungry? He entered the house of God and ate the bread of the Presence, which it was not lawful for him or his companions to eat, but only for the priests. Or have you not read in the law that on the sabbath the priests in the temple break the sabbath and yet are guiltless? I tell you, something greater than the temple is here. But if you had known what this means, ‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the guiltless. For the Son of Man is lord of the sabbath.”
(Matthew 12:1-8 NRSV)
In the context of Matthew’s audience, Jesus’ disciples’ violation of the Sabbath is fruitful ground for interpretation. I will be primarily looking at this text from a first century Jewish context, focusing on the five perspectives Jesus uses to justify the actions of the disciples. I have classified these perspectives as; the Davidic precedent, the priestly precedent, Jesus’ comparison to the temple, the reference to Hosea, and the “Lord of the Sabbath” statement. I will also focus on how the story relates to the tone and themes of the rest of Matthew’s gospel. Finally, I will discuss the parallel text in the synoptic gospels and the significance of the difference between those passages.
I just finished a Summer internship as a hospital chaplain on Friday. The program is called CPE, which stands for Clinical Pastoral Education. Although much of the time is spent visiting patients, there is also a lot of time for reflection and processing of the experience. Although I think this has been an incredibly enriching experience for me, as and introvert I found it totally exhausting. Since it’s finished I feel like I have almost boundless energy, which I think is a sign of just how drained I felt this Summer.
This has led me to think a little about what it means to be an introvert and I’ve decided to start collecting tips and perspectives on how to keep the world from sucking the life out of me. I’ll probably make a few posts on this topic as I figure more things out, but I want to start with this simple idea; The world as it is can work very well for an introvert.
A couple of old recordings
Aug 23
Here are a couple of Josh Ritter songs I recorded myself playing a while ago. I felt like I ought to post them somewhere. Enjoy.
Rainslicker Girl in the war